Sunday Hangover: Indiana

What an atrocious performance at the Rose Bowl for the Tide. 

It's pretty simple what happened. Indiana beat Alabama at line play. 

If I were Alabama's offensive line coach, I'd be worried about job security because that OLine roster is littered with four- and five-star talent that is not living up to its potential. 

The same can be said for the defensive line. 

Music Friday: "Nutshell"

This somber tune fits my mood today after watching the Tide get shellacked in the Rose Bowl yesterday. 

Jar of Flies has to be one of the best EPs of all time. 

Music Friday: "All Your Favorite Bands"

For whatever reason, I came across this song from Dawes this morning, and it hits just right the day after Xmas. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Pie Crust

This is the pie crust recipe I use that I got from an old cookbook that was written and published by my Mom and Dad's church way back when.

Dry Ingredients

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup of Crisco
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Wet Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of white vinegar
• Cold water to make 3/4 liquid (including the egg and vinegar)

Process

Hand mix the dry ingredients with pastry blender until crumbly. 

Add in the wet ingredients. Mix together and make into three balls. 

Chill in the refrigerator for a half hour or an hour and then roll out for pie crusts. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I took one of those three-part YouGov polls the other day, and it was in response to scheduling marijuana to less restrictive class. 

Here were the questions with pertinent percentages:

• Do you think that marijuana has legitimate medical uses? Definitely 43%, Probably 33%, Probably not 8%, Definitely not 5%, and Not sure 11%
• Do you approve or disapprove of the government reclassifying marijuana from the most restrictive category of drugs to a less restrictive category that allows for research on its potential medical uses? Strong approve 42%, Somewhat approve 28%, Somewhat disapprove 8%, Strongly disapprove 8%, and Not sure 14%
• Do you think that the recreational use of marijuana should be made legal in the United States or not? Yes 54%, No 27%, and Not sure 19%

The bottom line is that most people think it has legitimate medical uses (and it does), people feel it should be moved to a lesser class of drug, and a slim majority want it nationally legalized. 

I'm not a pot smoker, but these poll numbers don't surprise me. 

Existential Comics is at it again with great thoughts on "Stupidity and the Progress of Human Civilization."  

The author of the comic has a point. Civilization has advanced because of intelligent thinking. However, there have to be all kinds of cases where some stupid moves or dumb thinking or just plain old chance created some good in the world. 

The author uses the examples of riding horses, domesticating wolves into dogs, and the discovery of alcohol. Another one would be coffee. How the hell did that mainstay in many people's routines originate?

There's story about a goat herder named Kaldi, but who knows if that tale is actually true. See the "History of Coffee" from the National Coffee Association.  

Happy Festivus. 

Sunday Hangover: Oklahoma

Since I became an Alabama fan in 1998 when I started my PhD program in Tuscaloosa, if I remember correctly, I think the Crimson Tide has played Oklahoma four times. And I'm pretty sure Alabama has gone 0-4 in those four games. 

Not last night. 

It didn't look good early. For Mrs. Nasty and me, it didn't sound good because we listened to most of the first half on the radio while driving back from an away high school basketball game. 

And then the game changed with the TD on fourth down to Brooks. 

27 unanswered points. 

At least from what I heard on the radio, Mateer and the Oklahoma receivers were carving up the Alabama defense because they were playing zone. At least that was the assessment from Tyler Watts on the radio. 

When I got to actually watch the game late in the second quarter and on, it looked like the Tide had turned to basically a man approach in the passing game. And it worked. 

The defense finally found its footing in the game after giving up 17 points. 

From the looks of it, Miller is still nursing an injury because we saw a lot of Daniel Hill at running back. Hopefully Miller gets healthy soon. 

And I hope we get Overton back on the Dline against Indiana.   

Random Notes from a Crank

It looks like President Adolf wants to put all Americans on welfare because of his stupid tariffs: "Trump Dangles Cash Payments to Buoy Voters' Views of the Economy." 

He put farmers on welfare with 12 billion going to them, and now he wants to put everyone else on government assistance. 

MABA: Making America Barkrupt Again

Trump Welfare 

The GOP leadership has no spine in regard to fiscal responsibility. 

I first starting liking cop TV shows when I was young and watched Hill Street Blues. 

Then another cop show came along with NYPD Blue, which is probably my favorite TV cop show. 

One show that rivals NYPd Blue is the Bosch series on Amazon. 

And yet again, the administration has stepped up its attacks on trans folks. 

Clay Jones' political cartoon puts it well. 

I didn't even bother paying much attention to President Adolf's presidential address, and calling it an "address" is being kind because it sounds like it was rant-filled pack of lies. 

CNN does a good job documenting his lies: "Fact Check: Trump Repeats Numerous False Claims in Prime-Time Address." 

False claims are LIES. 

Music Friday: "Hungersite"

I've been listening to a couple of Goose albums this week as I've been doing work. I know I featured them last Friday too.  

Here's a tune from the album Dripfield. 

Music Friday: "Your Direction"

A band I've gotten into this year is Goose. 

Here's a tune from the band's most recent album Everything Must Go.

Random Notes from a Crank

I was watching an episode of Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, and O'Brien used the term "peter out." 

Because I usually have dirty mind, I initially thought the term originated from "Peter" meaning a penis. To my thinking, something petered out when a dude couldn't get it up anymore. 

It turns out my thinking is way off base if you choose to read "What's the Meaning of the Phrase 'Peter Out?'" 

There are about three different possibilities of how the phrase originated, but the one related to the use of saltpeter when mining in the 19th century seems the most plausible. 

This nonsense the U.S. is doing down in Venezuela needs to stop. 

Lalo Alcaraz has done some fine work below. 

Ah, MAGA socialism with the Aid Package that is going to U.S. farmers. 

According to Reuters, "US Farmers Say Trump's $12 billion Aid Package Won't Cover Losses." 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

With Overton, Miller, and Cuevas out, I didn't feel confident in the Alabama winning the SEC Championship. 

They didn't play well, and Justin Jefferson, the team's leading tackler, got hurt. 

Alabama didn't play well at all, but they squeaked into the playoffs as the no. 9 seed to play Oklahoma in Norman on the 19th. 

The Crimson Tide needs to come up with solutions in the next couple of weeks. 

One place to start would be running the ball. Hopefully by then Miller and Riley will be available. 

Music Friday: "Feel Free"

I'm pretty confident I've featured this song before on a Music Friday, but it's been a while. 

Yesterday as I was doing stuff in the office, I listened to Jay Farrar's Stone, Steel & Bright Lights (Live) album. 

This tune is one of my favorite songs from his solo work. 

Musing of the Moment: SEC Football Coaching Hires

Because this blog is SEC-centric in regard to football, I thought I'd give my so-called thoughts about the coaching hires in the SEC. 

LSU: Lane Kiffin

This is the drama that has consumed so much energy over the past week because of the ultimatum that the Ole Miss AD gave to Kiffin, which is understandable because what Kiffin would have done is coach Ole Miss in the playoffs and take Ole Miss's most talented players with him to Baton Rouge. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if some Ole Miss players defect to LSU after the season. 

I get why Ole Miss didn't want Kiffin around anymore since he had committed to the Bayou Bengals. You want a guy committed to the program coaching the team. 

Regardless, this is a really good hire because we know Kiffin can coach offense, and with the crazy-ass people behind the LSU program willing to give him a 25 million dollar budget every year, he's going to buy all kinds of defensive talent like he was starting to do in Oxford before he departed on a private jet as fans cursed at him at the airport.   

Whatever happens with this hire, the annual Ole Miss-LSU football game just got spicier, and the game in 2026 is in Oxford. It's going to get loud and salty. 

Ole Miss: Pete Golding

This hire was a bit of a surprise to me, but once I started thinking about it, it makes sense. It might save some of the recruiting class, it provides stability for the playoffs, and the administration bets on a guy who has improved Ole Miss in regard to defense, which is traditionally one of their weaknesses. I just wonder if the committee will put Ole Miss at a higher seed without Kiffin manning the offense. 

The administration is taking a chance on a guy played Division II football in the state and has settled in at Oxford after serving as the DC for one of Alabama's national championships and two of its SEC championships. 

Florida: Jon Sumrall

Could this be a good hire for Florida. I know he's brought the Tulane football team to prominence, which is difficult because Tulane is the second tier program in the state of Louisiana. This hire feels like a total coin flip to me. 

Auburn: Alex Golesh

As an Alabama alumnus, this is the hire I did not want to see at Auburn. I've watched his success at USF, and I think he runs the Tennessee offense better than Tennessee does. Two Saban-led Alabama teams has trouble in both of their games agains the Bulls. 

Arkansas: Ryan Silverfield

He made Memphis a player on the scene. But honestly, I don't know much about him and his coaching to even speculate. The challenge is that's it is Arkansas, which is a football program that has so many disadvantages compared to the bigger programs in the conference. I like it when Arkansas is a good team in the conference, but it seems like decades since that was a reality. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

Why does Alabama tend to have close games away at Auburn? I'm fatigued by the stress. 

The defense gave up some explosive plays, but at the start, if I remember correctly, they had three three-and-outs in a row. They played well for the most part, and Lawson led the team in tackles. 

I was disppointed in the pass rush later in the game because the Dline had been pressuring the quarterback early in the game. 

There was a surprising resurgence of the running game with Miller having one of his best performances of the season against a defense that is probably one of the top ten defenses against the run.  

What is curious is that Ryan Williams didn't play much at all. I don't whether he was limited because of injury or attitude or breaking team rules. 

Horton took advantage of all kinds of playing time with three touchdowns from Simpson. 

Next up is yet another meeting versus Georgia in the SEC Championship game. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In what may come as a surprise to some but not to me, Twitter implemented an "about this account" feature that revealed many of these pro-MAGA and pro-Trump accounts originate from foreign countries, such as Russia, India, and Nigeria, among others: "Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Trolls." 

I quit Twitter a good while ago because it's a cesspool run by a wannabe Nazi. 

But this report only shows that social media platform is even worse than assumed. 

In other predictable news, the NFL team I root for, the Minnesota Vikings, is sucking. 

And my fantasy football team, the Schlitzophrenics cannot catch a break. I was set to make the upper bracket of the playoffs as the third or fourth seed, but after this week, my team's situation is looking sketchy to possibly grim. 

As I've done for a while now, I'm brining a turkey for Thanksgiving. 

Here's my recipe: "Turkey Brine."